Beyonce Puts Her Hands Up (Over Her Boobs) For Topless OUT Cover

Beyoncé really let it all hang out on December’s surprise self-titled album. The typically private singer taught us a lot about grinding on that surfbort and the other sweaty late-night action with husband Jay Z.

In a revealing cover story in OUT magazine, Bey explained that the overt sexual vibe on the record is part of her attempt to speak to women about being, and feeling, sexy and unashamed.

“There is unbelievable power in ownership, and women should own their sexuality,” she said in the piece, which is accompanied by a series of topless and glam shots from Santiago & Mauricio. “There is a double standard when it comes to sexuality that still persists. Men are free and women are not. That is crazy.”

“The old lessons of submissiveness and fragility made us victims. Women are so much more than that. You can be a businesswoman, a mother, an artist, and a feminist — whatever you want to be — and still be a sexual being. It’s not mutually exclusive.”

Perfectly Imperfect Is Just Fine

One of the hallmarks of Queen Bey’s long career is her ability to look and sound so flawless in seemingly any situation. But it was hard to ignore that her voice was a bit more ragged than usual on the Beyonce song “XO.” So what gives?

“When I recorded ’XO’ I was sick with a bad sinus infection,” she explained in an email interview with the magazine. “I recorded it in a few minutes just as a demo and decided to keep the vocals. I lived with most of the songs for a year and never rerecorded the demo vocals.”

“I really loved the imperfections, so I kept the original demos. I spent the time I’d normally spend on backgrounds and vocal production on getting the music perfect … Discipline, patience, control, truth, risk, and effortlessness were all things I thought about while I was putting this album together.”

On Being A Feminist And Appealing To All Her Fans

In addition to telling the story of a strong, in charge female, Out noted that Beyonce has also spoken to members of the LGBT community. Bey said that is, of course, not coincidence.

“While I am definitely conscious of all the different types of people who listen to my music, I really set out to make the most personal, honest, and best album I could make,” she explained. “I needed to free myself from the pressures and expectations of what I thought I should say or be, and just speak from the heart.”

“Being that I am a woman in a male-dominated society, the feminist mentality rang true to me and became a way to personalize that struggle… But what I’m really referring to, and hoping for, is human rights and equality, not just that between a woman and a man.”

“So I’m very happy if my words can ever inspire or empower someone who considers themselves an oppressed minority… We are all the same and we all want the same things: the right to be happy, to be just who we want to be and to love who we want to love.”